Behind-the-Scenes on the Original "Kung Fu" TV Show - the Internal Fighting Arts Interview with Radames Pera
April 12, 2022
Radames Pera is the last surviving star from the original "Kung Fu" TV show. His memory is burned into our brains, the young bald student monk who learned martial arts and Eastern philosophy from Master Kan (played by Phillip Ahn) and the blind Master Po (played by Keye Luke).
Master Po referred to young Caine as "Grasshopper," and that term has been used in martial arts classes ever since. Sometimes, when I'm teaching a student and they suddenly understand a technique and perform it well, I find myself saying, "Ahh, Grasshopper."
A few weeks ago I wondered what happened to the young boy who played the part of young Caine, so I searched and found Radames living in France. He is 61 now. I sent him a message, asked him to be on the podcast, and he graciously said yes.
He is a very engaging, funny and intelligent man. We talked for two hours, and I enjoyed every moment talking about his career (it is much more than just "Kung Fu") and some of the people he worked with, including David Carradine, Phillip Ahn and Keye Luke, and others such as Jack Lord ("Hawaii 5-0"), Michael Landon ("Little House on the Prairie"), and a man I appeared in a movie with, Lee Majors ("The Six Million Dollar Man").
I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did. Listen online or download the file at the Internal Fighting Arts podcast page.
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